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Friday, July 16, 2010

Literary Snob

When I was growing up, my father read The New Yorker, had season tickets to the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and went out of his way to go to art films that were subtitled. When we were feeling brave, my sister and I would request to go to a Hollywood film at the normal movie theater, but my father would cringe at the mention of something so mainstream.

Instead, I was taken to museums on weekends and given quizzes, written in big, block Dad font, about what I had learned from the exhibits. I got subscriptions to Stone Soup while my friends read Seventeen. And I sang in a professional children's choir while my peers played in rock bands.

So now, to make up for it all, I read chick lit. And memoir. And mainstream novels. And ad copy. And the back of cereal boxes. And yes, The New Yorker. Sometimes. The humor parts.

I've been quite content since I left college.

But recently I went to a writing class that was filled with people like my father. It was filled with Dads.

During the class, I quoted Bill Bryson because we were discussing grabbing a reader's attention and I love the way his book, The Lost Continent, begins: "I come from Des Moines. Somebody had to."

The Dads were offended that I would mention something so mainstream. Poor Bill Bryson. Where did he go wrong?

Then I said I liked how Augusten Burroughs writes in the present tense because it really brings you into the moment.

The Dads were not impressed. Augusten Burroughs? Please. Writing in the present is too affected; action always happens in the past.

Finally, someone else spoke up. "I've always liked Ayn Rand."

Ayn Rand? Now all the Dads turned their wrinkled noses from me to her.

"What?" she said. "What is wrong with Ayn Rand?"

"Nothing," I said. "If her books make you enjoy reading, that's great."

31 comments:

Wow, this was an interesting post to read. I sometimes think I'm snobby about what I read but I have to admit even though I have an MA in English and Teaching, I can't get into the theater. Some art films are ok, but I think I've subsumed my abhorrence for Hollywood into a grotesque obsession with Brit Coms. Yuck.

Anyway, it's good that your father was so involved and took you to museums, etc rather than just dropping you off in front of the babysitter (aka the TV).

I'm not complaining, I have a great dad. But sometimes his idea of culture threatened to make me completely stupid when it came to normal things people talked about.

In an effort to become less socially awkward, perhaps I have gone a little too far in the commercial direction--I mean, at one point I was writing NASCAR commercials--talk about making my father proud (insert sarcasm here).

But I believe we can learn things from all kinds of writing--so I consider it part of my well-rounded writing education.

haha that's hilarious - Bill Bryson is my favourite writer! He's hilarious! I love that book opening too! I mean, so sue me for wanting to be entertained by a book - reading doesn't have to be just about expanding your mind and having ammo for a deep philosophical discussion. Sometimes you just want to be transported and laugh deeply from your gut and there's nothing wrong with that. Pretentious snobs piss me off lol

Great post, Chantal. I have my moments of lit-snobbery, but they are usually saved for Nicholas Sparks and Stephanie Meyer. I love memoir that's done well, and I think Auguston Burroughs' latest was his best. You know you're in a class full of snobs when they turn their noses at Ayn Rand!

I hate literary and cultural snobbery! Get over your selves! The sign of true word lovers and art lovers is appreciating work in all forms. Open your eyes!

I went to Harvard and I read the New Yorker. I also read US Weekly, only want to watch "funny" movies, and read everything from Jennifer Weiner and Candace Bushnell to Joyce Carol Oates and Richard Russo.

Augusten Burroughs? Next stop Amazon. I love Bryson too -- but now rarely read him because a very knowledgeable U.S. national park ranger friend of mine told me Bryson's book on (I think) the Appalachian Trail was full of factual errors. He told me this while I was in the middle of Bryson's "Short History of Nearly Everything." I stopped reading the book. I almost wish I didn't know he's not an accurate writer, because he's so much fun to read.

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About Me

I’m an American writer who moved to Switzerland in 2006 and am now back in the US to determine if I can live anywhere else after being in a country filled with cheese, chocolate, and people who can pronounce my name. The author of Swiss Life: 30 Things I Wish I'd Known www.swisslifebook.com, and 99.9 Ways to Travel Switzerland Like a Local www.swisstravelbook.com, I have written about Switzerland for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, CNN Travel, and many other publications.
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Copyright 2009 Chantal Panozzo. All content is sole property of the author and may not be reproduced in any form without permission. (But linking is welcome). Please contact the author for syndication or reprint inquiries.